TRIPOLI, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UNICEF said on Monday that more than 115,000 students have been deprived of education in and around Libya's capital Tripoli as a result of the ongoing armed conflict.
"The recent escalation of violence in and around Tripoli has taken a devastating toll on children's education, with five schools destroyed and 210 shuttered, pushing over 115,000 children out of school in the Ain-Zara, Abu Salim and Soug al Juma'aa areas," UNICEF said in a statement.
"Recent attacks on educational facilities and overall insecurity in and around Tripoli are putting children's lives on the line just by going to school each day," it added.
UNICEF called on Libya's rival parties to "protect children at all times, stop attacks against schools and refrain from violence including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure."
Since early April of 2019, the east-based Libyan army has been leading a military campaign in and around Tripoli in an attempt to take over the city and topple the UN-backed government.
Thousands have been killed and injured in the fighting, and more than 120,000 civilians fled their homes away from the violence.
